Ari Huusela

Ari Huusela (born 28 October 1962) is a professional Finnish pilot and amateur offshore single-handed sailor.[1] He has flown 25,000 hours and (before Vendée Globe) has sailed over 50,000 nautical miles.[2]

Ari Huusela
Born (1962-10-28) October 28, 1962
Helsinki, Finland
NationalityFinnish
OccupationCaptain of an aircraft
Known forSingle-handed sailing

He is a participant in the 2020-2021 Vendée Globe race, a quadrennial competition in which participants attempt to sail around the world single-handed and non-stop. He is the first person from the Nordic countries to have participated and finished this race.[3]

Education and career as an airline pilot

Huusela studied in a vocational school, to be an aviation mechanic, and while doing that he worked as an intern with Finnaviation, where he also was able to work after graduation. At the same time, Huusela studied to get his pilot's licence. Graduating as a mechanic was just an intermediate stage, as he was aiming to become a professional aircraft pilot. He received his licence in 1982.[2]

While aboard a Finnair DC-9, a friendly airline captain saw his enthusiasm and helped him to get to practice, flying with the Finnair Flying Club Piper PA-28 Cherokee Arrow, and after that Huusela got a job flying freight with RV-Aviation. Later he also flew with Airlift and Karair, until he was admitted to the Finnair Aviation School in Pori, to study to become a first officer. He has since flown the following aircraft: Saab 340 (as first officer, 1990–1997), DC-9 (as first officer, 1997–2000, as captain 2001–2003), ATR (as captain, 2000–2001), Airbus A320 (as captain, 2003–2008), Airbus A330 and A340 (as captain, 2008–2016). He has since been a captain with Finnair's Airbus A350 -aircraft on the Asian routes.[2]

Sailing career

Ari Huusela started to sail only in 1986, at the age of 24, and he has now sailed competitively for more than 30 years. He won the Finnish championship of sailing in the open sea in 1997.[4] In 1999, Huusela participated for the first time in the Trans-Atlantic Mini Transat 6.50 race with his 6.5 meter boat Pomi. He was the best of the Nordic participants, finishing 13th in the race.[5] In the autumn of 2007, he participated in the race for a second time, and managed to finish it again.[4] In 2007, the Transat 6,50 race started from La Rochelle, France, and continued via Madeira to Salvador da Bahia in Brazil. Only two Finns have ever been able to participate in Classe Mini transantlantic races, Reima Alander in 1997 and Ari Huusela in 1999 and 2007.[6]

In 2014, Huusela was the first participant from the Nordic countries to finish the Route du Rhum single-handed sailing race from Saint-Malo, France, to Guadeloupe, with his boat Neste Oil. He raced in the class RHUM .[7]

In 2017, Huusela bought his IMOCA known before as Aviva (Owen Clarke Design 2007). In 2018, he became the first person from the Nordic countries to have participated and finished in the Imoca Globe Series race. The race was the Route du Rhum 2018.[8] In the spring of 2019, Huusela did the Imoca Globe Series Bermudes 1000 Race (2 000 nautical miles).[9] In the autumn of 2019, Huusela again made Nordic sailing history when he captained his boat, IMOCA Ariel II, to the finish line of the legendary coffee race Transat Jacques Vabre. A double-handed race co-skippered by Irishman Mikey Ferguson.[10]

In 2020, Huusela became the first Nordic skipper to participate in the legendary Vendée Globe race around the world alone, non-stop.[11] His boat is the same one he used in the Route du Rhum 2018, i.e. Aviva, but renamed Stark before the Vendée Globe. Huusela crossed the finish line of the iconic race after 116 days 18 hours 15 minutes on March 5, 2021.

Single-handed races across the Atlantic
Ari Huusela's single-handed races across the Atlantic[12]
Year Race Boat Class Route Position References
1999Mini TransatPomiMini 6,50France – Lanzarote –
Guadeloupe, the Caribbean		13.[13]
2007Transat 650WippiesMini 6,50France – Madeira –
Salvador da Bahia, Brazil
2014Route du RhumNeste OilRHUM (Pogo40)France – Guadeloupe,
the Caribbean
2018Route du RhumAriel2IMOCAFrance – Guadeloupe,
the Caribbean
Other IMOCA Globe Series Races
Year Race Boat Class Route Position References
2019Bermudes 1000 RaceAriel2IMOCADouarnenez – 2 000 NM – Brest
2019Transat Jacques VabreaAriel2IMOCAFrance – Brazil

a Note: Double-handed, co-skipper: Mikey Ferguson. Ariel II is the same boat with which Huusela now participates in the Vendée Globe race, only now renamed Stark after his main sponsor.

In Vendée Globe
Ari Huusela in Vendée Globe 2020–21, 116 days, 18 hours, 15 minutes[14]
Stage Country/Continent Longitude Reached on, date and time Position References
Start, Les Sables-d'OlonneFrance1° 47' 43" W8 Nov 2020, ca. 13.00 UTC–[15]
Cape of Good HopeSouth Africa18° 28' 26" E12 Dec 2020, 11.32 UTC27.[16]
Cape LeeuwinWestern Australia115° 08' 10" E29 Dec 2020, 22.23 UTC26.
Cape HornSouth America67° 16' 00 " W25 Jan 2021, 01.19 UTC25.
Finish, Les Sables-d'OlonneFrance1° 47' 43" W5 Mar 2021 7.35 UTC25

References
  1. Huusela, Ari. "Ari Huusela". www.imoca.org. International Monohull Open Class Association. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  2. Jaakkola, Helena (27 August 2020). "Lentäjä Ari Huusela purjehtii maailman ympäri" [‘Pilot Ari Huusela is sailing around the world’]. Ilmailu-lehti. Ilmailuliitto. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
  3. "Finnairin lentäjä Ari Huusela valmistautuu maailman vaativimpaan purjehduskilpailuun" [‘Finnair pilot Ari Huusela preparing for the most demanding sailing race of the world’]. Blue Wings (in Finnish). Finnair. 24 March 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  4. Parviainen, Vesa (31 October 2017). "Suomalaispurjehtija legendaariseen kisaan maapallon ympäri: "En ole aikaisemmin edes uskaltanut sanoa ääneen"" [‘A Finnish sailor to participate in a legendary race around the world: “Earlier I did not even dare to say it out loud.” ’]. Iltalehti (in Finnish). Alma Media. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  5. Siukonen, Markku (2000). Urheilun vuosikirja 21 [‘Yearbook of sports 21’]. Kustannus-Notariaatti Oy. pp. 244, 251. ISBN 952-5106-12-8.
  6. "Ari Huusela Mini-Transat 2007". avomeripurjehtijat.org (in Finnish). Avomeripurjehtijat ry. 22 August 2007. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  7. "Position report from 09/12 – 15h49" [‘’]. routedurhum.com. 9 December 2014. Archived from the original on 22 January 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  8. Virtanen, Ari (24 November 2018). "Atlantin yli yksin purjehtinut Ari Huusela teki pohjoismaista purjehdushistoriaa" [‘Ari Huusela sailed single-handed across the Atlantic and made Nordic history’]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Helsinki: Sanoma. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  9. Parviainen, Vesa (20 May 2019). "Yksinpurjehtija Ari Huusela selviytyi 3600 kilometrin valtamerikisan maaliin: "Olen kovien kelien mies"" [‘Single-handed sailor Ari Huusela made it to the finish of a 3600 kilometer ocean race: “I’m a man made for tough races” ’]. Iltalehti (in Finnish). Alma Media. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  10. Pusa, Ari (16 November 2019). "Purjehtija Ari Huusela pääsi vaikeuksien jälkeen vihdoin maaliin Brasiliaan: "Taidan olla kovien koettelemusten mies"" [‘Sailor Ari Huusela made it to the finish line in Brazil after hardships: “I think I’m a man for tough situations’]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Helsinki: Sanoma. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  11. "Ari Huusela STARK" [‘’]. vendeeglobe.org. Vendée Globe. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  12. "Ari Huusela Ocean Racing". Ari Huusela. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  13. "Purjehtija ja rohkea haastaja" [‘A sailor and a strong challenger’] (PDF). avomeripurjehtijat.org (in Finnish). avomeripurjehtijat. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  14. "Ari Huusela Ocean Racing" [‘’]. Ari Huusela. 5 March 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  15. Pusa, Ari (9 November 2020). "Ari Huusela lähti Biskajanlahden julmiin oloihin: "Nyt ei voi puhua kilpailemisesta, vaan selviytymisestä"" [‘Ari Huusela left into the cruel winds of the Bay of Biscay: “Now we’re not talking about racing, this is about survival.” ’]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Helsinki: Sanoma. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  16. Pusa, Ari (13 December 2020). "Ari Huusela ohitti Hyväntoivonniemen" [‘Ari Huusela sailed past the Cape of Good Hope’]. Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Helsinki: Sanoma. p. A 34. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
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